Objective: We designed this study to determine the knowledge of oral cancer and oral cancer prevention of medical students and residents at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth.

Methods: We developed and pilot-tested a 31-item questionnaire that we administered to volunteers during class sessions or group meetings. We tabulated the data for the 176 returned surveys and computed descriptive statistics for the group.

Results: The majority of the respondents (83%) did not recognize the most common site of oral cancer although residents were more likely to know than medical students (OR=2.56). A smaller proportion (61%) identified the site with the poorest survival rate. Many in the group (76%) realized that oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the U.S., but 66% did not know that the survival rate was among the lowest for cancers. Most respondents (94%) knew that males have greater risk for oral cancer than females but 76% did not correctly identify age or racial cohorts at highest risk. Almost all (99.4%) viewed tobacco use as a risk factor, but fewer were aware of the oral cancer risk posed by alcohol use (65%), sun exposure (36%) or candidiasis (24%). Odds ratio revealed few differences between medical students and residents for these variables. The proportion that recognized oral cancer risk reduction strategies were: annual professional exam 86%; self-examination 68%; tobacco cessation 97%; alcohol moderation 61%; and, use of sunscreen 31%. Residents were more likely than medical students to know conditions that were not risk factors, such as diabetes (OR=3.14) and high sugar diet (OR=1.9).

Conclusions: These findings suggest a need to increase the emphasis on oral cancer information and risk assessment in this undergraduate medical curriculum and residency training program.

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